


The Enchanted Isles

by AlsyWalsy



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-20
Updated: 2017-12-20
Packaged: 2019-02-17 16:53:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,919
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13081176
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlsyWalsy/pseuds/AlsyWalsy
Summary: A RSS present for the wonderful glindatthegood on Tumblr. Rumplestiltskin and a whole host of people are cursed to live upon the Enchanted Isles until a girl will come to break the curse.





	The Enchanted Isles

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is based off of a game, because clearly all I think about is computer games! This was originally going to be a longer idea but got a little shortened.

Rumplestiltskin never wanted to rule. The powers of the Dark One had given him the ability to rule without anybody daring to question him, but the responsibility had never interested him. And yet, here he was, sitting on this ridiculous throne with no real idea how he had ended up in this situation.

He wasn’t a real ruler. He didn’t have to hold court or make the rules. In fact, he didn’t run either of the lands that the Enchanted Isles were split into. The southern lands of Misthaven were ruled by the Evil Queen and the Land Without Magic to the North was domain of Regina Mills. Two halves of one person, yet nobody ever questioned it. Regardless, these two women ruled their own lands with their own deputies and rarely ever called for the Dark One to step in.

Most of the inhabitants of the Enchanted Isles seemed to accept their lives as though nothing had ever existed before, but Rumplestiltskin knew better. He and his right hand man, Jefferson, were the only people in all the Isles who were awake. For years they had known nothing of their situation; one day they had been living their lives and the next they were suddenly in a new world where over one hundred residents had sprung up with them. These people could have been from anywhere – they didn’t know – for each and every resident had this idea that they had lived in this world their entire lives.

It hadn’t taken him very long to realise that they had all been cursed. The particulars of the curse escaped him for well over a decade.

Every day was the same in this land. The same old people had the same old squabbles. It was very rare that anybody would deviate from their daily patterns. All of this repetitive normality made Rumplestiltskin so dreadfully _bored_.

In early years this had led to a lot of mayhem as a bored Dark One tore his way through the Isles; tormenting the immortal residents and playing all sorts of tricks and mischief. Even bothering the ever prim and proper Evil Queen had grown boring as years bled into decades. There just wasn’t enough in these small lands to entertain him. Instead of creating mayhem he had turned his hand to figuring out what had happened.

Researching a curse was difficult when one’s only materials were those provided by said curse, and also when the only research partner he had was the Mad bloody Hatter. Jefferson would rather play with the people in Misthaven or torment those who stumbled through the portal to the Isles.

The pair had learned two things; that the entrance to the lands would move around worlds of its own free will. The portal had been described as a huge three headed visage of the Dark One himself, his open mouth forming the portal. Those who stumbled into this portal were the only people allowed to leave the Isles – though not with their sanity intact.

Secondly they had learned that the curse could indeed be broken, and would be when the curse itself chose a girl to enter the realm. This girl would need to work side by side with the ruler to restore magic to the tower known as the Needle. Easier said than done.

The Dark One lounged lazily across his throne, one leg thrown up over the left arm, his hands clasped over his stomach as he drifted in and out of sleep.

 

“She’s here.”

It wasn’t often that he was caught off guard, but the sudden voice behind him did make him jump, early out of his skin. He stood from his seat and paced away several steps, turning a glare on the intruder of his bored rest.

“Remind me again why I enchanted that hat with the power to teleport across the Isles?”

“Because you love me.” The man sing-songed with a grin as he slipped into the vacated throne. “Ooh, nice and warm. Thanks Rumple.”

Rumplestiltskin rolled his eyes and once more fought back the urge to test the limits of the supposed immortality of those who resided in these lands. He rubbed a hand over his face and heaved a heavy sigh.

“Why are you here, Jefferson? Who is here?”

“The girl.”

The urge to kill was rising. “What girl?”

“ _The_ Girl. The one who will send us all home. Who will fix your little ruling problem and return sanity to all the poor saps who live here!” Jefferson was playing with his purple top hat; twirling it in his hand, tossing it in the air and catching it again.

“All except for you, dearie.”

Jefferson laughed. “Well, you’re not wrong there. But you are missing the point here – we can be free!”

“I am not missing anything. You have said the same about the last two women who entered the Isles and look where they ended up. One wandered off into the Lost Forest and has still not been seen whilst the other resides in Storybrooke cemetery. They didn’t do much of a job in fixing this bloody curse with me, did they?”

“Noooooo..” The hatter drew out the sound like a five year old. “But you didn’t exactly help in greeting them.”

“Don’t blame me!”

“Come on, Rumple, you are quite.. prickly.” He waved his hand vaguely at him and Rumplestiltskin realised he was wearing the spiky scarf today. He growled and it disappeared in a puff of smoke.

“I am not here to pander every poor sod who wanders into this world. I just want out of it, it’s been long enough.”

Jefferson caught his hat one last time and put it on his head, still lounging happily across the throne. He rested his hands on his stomach, mimicking the pose Rumplestiltskin had been in previously. “Well, she is on her way here. Has probably made it past the gate by now, unless the Evil Queen decided to halt her progress.”

“Wait, she’s here? She made it across the Isles?”

“Yeeeeeep. I might have offered her a helping hand – pointed her in the direction and towards the correct people. I told her that the almighty Dark One would help her to get home without going completely insane. So she decided to go marching towards your castle.”

The Hatter rose to his feet and strolled towards the large double doors at the throne room entrance. He pulled both doors wide open, revealing two dwarf guards who watched over the castle at all times.

“If a pretty young thing with brown hair and a wonderfully strange accent, be sure to let her in, won’t you?” He closed the door before they even answered. “Better get ready, Rumple! This one is a real firebrand.”

The Dark One growled under his breath and stalked back to his throne, dropping unceremoniously upon the plush seat. He knew that he needed to find this girl to break the curse but the last few ‘chosen ones’ Jefferson had brought up were completely useless. He had begun to lose hope that there really was a girl who could break the curse.

“This one had better be correct, Jefferson, or I will send you to the Lost Forest myself.”

“Promises, promises.” The Hatter leant against the edge of the throne and grinned at him.

The duo remained in that position for nearly ten minutes of pure silence when the doors suddenly opened. The dwarf guards stepped aside and a beautiful young woman stepped into the large room.

Rumplestiltskin was immediately struck by her, because she looked up at him without so much as a flinch. Everybody from the outside flinched when they saw his off coloured skin and strange appearance, but this girl just took it in all her stride as she approached his throne.

Beautiful big blue eyes looked right at him and though her lips were moving he couldn’t hear the words. Just a voice. One of the most beautiful voices he had ever heard, almost like music to his ears. Words eventually began to filter through but they were all lilted with a wonderfully foreign accent.

“-and I need to get home. Apparently you are the only one who can get me there without losing my mind and I am inclined to believe that your friend spoke the truth when I first met him.” Jefferson was grinning at his side. “Every person I have met so far is completely mad.”

“We are all mad here!” Rumplestiltskin scowled and shoved the Hatter off the arm of his chair.

“Ignore him. For some reason he has been appointed chamberlain yet does not deserve the title.”

“You gave me that title.” He didn’t even need to look at him to know that Jefferson was currently pouting like some kicked puppy dog.

“And I can take it away again. Be gone!”

A small cloud of purple smoke enveloped the hatter and he disappeared from sight with a bow. That left just the pair of them alone in the large room. Rumplestiltskin rose from his seat and took a few steps towards the woman.

He wasn’t going to allow himself to be distracted by her beauty or her wonderful voice. No.. not at all. He frowned to himself and cleared his throat.

“You seem far more intelligent than the average traveller who wanders into these lands.. wiser. Why did you choose to walk through a massive portal in the mouth of a screaming stone man?” He moved up close to the woman, purposely invading her person space. He liked to put people off.

“Perhaps I didn’t have a choice?” She challenged without as much as a flinch.

“Is that so?”

“Look, I am not here to play games. I am Belle of Avonlea and I was forced through the portal. I don’t know how and I don’t know why. But I am looking for a way to get home again. I was told that you have the answer to my predicament.”

Of course Jefferson had done his job. Looks like the Dark One was actually going to have to do some work today. Wonderful. He had planned on hiding Doctor Whale’s practice hearts that afternoon.

“All right then. You want to get out of here, there’s a whole list of tasks that need doing before that can happen. These most definitely include dangerous monsters, incredible feats of bravery and pretty much guaranteed death.” He listed off the dangers by counting the fingers of one hand. Perhaps he could just convince this girl to run off back through the portal. He felt guilt the moment he finished the thought.

“If that is what it takes then I would request a few hours to prepare before we leave.”

He was stunned into silence for a moment. She was fine with all the threats and dangers? Just who was this young beauty?

“O-kay.. You can buy supplies in the town..” He frowned. “Meet me at the gates in two hours.”

Belle of Avonlea nodded her head and turned on heel to leave the room, not even sparing a glance to the Dark One as she waited patiently for the doors to be opened so she could exit.

Rumplestiltskin stared at the doors a long time after they had closed, his mind swimming with so many thoughts. So many that he didn’t notice his guest until a voice sang out through the large room.

“You fancy her. Rumple and Belle, sitting in a tree, K-“

“Jefferson!”


End file.
